Bangladesh Cricket Board’s chief selector Minhajul Abedin stopped short of saying that the international career of former captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was over, but gave enough hints to suggest the 37-year-old is not part of their plan for the future.
The former cricketer was bombared with questions regarding Mashrafe’s exclusion from the ODI team — the only format that Mashrafe still represents Bangladesh — for the West Indies series following the announcements of 24-member ODI squad and 20-member Test squads.
The preliminary squad for the ODIs featured four uncapped players, two of whom were part of the U-19 World Cup winning team last year. The focus in the new year, according to Abedin, would be on building the future with a fresh start.
“He (Mashrafe) gave a lot to the country and we all have respect for him. It was a difficult decision but we should accept the reality. Keeping Mashrafe out was based on a consesus. We will have to go forward and focus on 2023 World Cup with a fresh outlook,” Abedin told reporters after announcing the teams.
A lot of speculation has taken place over the pacer’s retirement from cricket altogether since his below-par performance in the 2019 ICC World Cup where he managed to take a single wicket as Bangladesh finished in eighth position.
“There were quite a few things to consider in taking the decision, including the plan of team management. The decision was taken in light of the future of the country’s cricket and that of young cricketers. We are starting things anew in 2021. There are a lot of matches in 2021, both Tests and ODIs and the 2023 ODI World Cup was one of the considerations,” Abedin said, adding that he himself relayed the decision to the former skipper before making the team announcement.
Mashrafe’s last appearance in a Bangladesh shirt was in the last ODI series against Zimbabwe at home in March last year. And going by the words and their implications of the chief selector, those matches could be his last ever.
The man from Narail, who made his debut for Bangladesh in 2001, has 270 wickets in 220 matches in ODIs at an average of 32.93. He also has 78 wickets from 36 Test matches and 42 wickets from 54 T20Is.
